


Welcome to the Murder

by marvelthesun



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: 1x01: Pilot, Gen, Holt has no patience for it, Jake is a child, Mention Of Homophobia, Mention of Assault, The rest of the squad is there but in a minor role, neither happen they're just touched on lightly, so I'm tagging to be safe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-19
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-07-14 04:54:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16033391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelthesun/pseuds/marvelthesun
Summary: It's Captain Raymond Holt's first day as CO of the Nine-Nine. He's not going to let anything ruin it. Especially not man-child Jake Peralta.





	Welcome to the Murder

**Author's Note:**

> The fic is basically what I imagine Captain Holt might be thinking throughout his first day dealing with Jake's antics (i.e. the pilot episode.) Slight mention of sexual harassment and homophobia, but nothing actually happens. (Some of Jake's comments/actions throughout the pilot are awkward and I imagine/hope wouldn't go unnoticed by a new supervisor.)
> 
> Title comes from Jake's line when Captain Holt arrives at the crime scene.

Captain Raymond Holt. He would never get used to that. It was (finally) his first day as a commanding officer. After 25 long years as a loyal trooper in the NYPD, he was finally going to be given his own command. Nothing was going to get in his way.

Ray had been given a summary of who he would be working with and he had reviewed the precinct’s performance over the last few years, familiarizing himself with the precinct he’d always dreamed of having. He was pleasantly surprised to find that Terry Jeffords had been promoted to Sergeant since leaving the 1-8. He’d had a lot of respect for Terry when they had worked together. He was a good detective and had always treated him with respect, which was a lot more than could be said for his peers. It was unfortunate that he had gotten himself such an unfortunate, if accurate, nickname. Hopefully the nickname had not followed him to the 9-9.

** 

As Ray walked into the precinct, he looked around the bullpen, getting to know the layout as well as catching a glimpse of the detectives under his command. His attention fell onto two young detectives talking close by. One of the detectives, a young woman, was sitting on the desk of a fellow detective, looking disapprovingly at whatever her companion was saying, her arms crossed. Walking towards them, he came within earshot of what the detective, who was sitting, was saying. Ray could not be more surprised to find that he, Captain Raymond Holt, who had worked 25 years to get this position, who had dreamed of nothing more than to be standing here, was expected to be nothing more than a “washed-up pencil pusher who’s only gonna be concerned with,” at this, the detective added a robot voice and arm movements, “following every rule in the patrol guide. Meep morp zeep. Robot captain engage.”

At that moment, Ray was strongly reminded of the detectives he had started with. He flashed back to the disrespect they showed him, the disdain with which they treated him day in and day out. He still remembered how they mocked the way he followed procedure. He had known then he could not afford to mess up like they had. He knew that the old guard had wanted any excuse to terminate him and he had worked tirelessly to not give them that chance. And yes, that meant following every rule in the patrol guide, but it had made him an excellent detective. He was confident in his own skills and work. He would not be shamed for it. 

So, Ray knew that this detective’s remarks had to be called out, and immediately. Ray had to establish himself as the authority figure. He would not allow himself to be walked all over, would not let the precinct get away from him. Perhaps it had been unnecessary, or even harsh, to make Detective Peralta do the robot voice again to his face. But Ray had to make sure Peralta was sufficiently embarrassed so he would think twice before mocking him. His officers and detectives would follow procedure, and that included following the dress code. Which meant the sooner Ray knew who else was under his command, the better.

**

Holt was glad to see Terry again and catch up with him. It was heartening to see Terry had done well for himself, getting in shape, starting a family (with adorably chubby cheeks and named after fictional TV characters.) Even if said family had caused his Sergeant to be on administrative leave. Holt knew he’d be able to count on Terry to work hard alongside him and tell him the truth on his detectives. Terry understood what this post meant to him. 

So thanks to Terry, Ray knew he would have to keep an eye on Hitchcock, Scully and Daniels. He wanted to see if he couldn’t get them to become better assets to the force. Or at least try out the coffee to see if that was worth keeping them around. Detective Diaz reminded him a bit of himself. He knew he could also be intimidating and difficult to read, due to the tough exterior he’d had to build as an openly gay black officer in the NYPD. (Though he had never destroyed property or intimidated/strong-armed fellow officers into doing what he wanted as Diaz apparently did.) Detective Boyle seemed easy to get along with, and it was good to know there was someone who respected hard work and was consistent. Ray could work around his lack of grace. He could also understand Detective Santiago’s need to prove she was tough and belonged. As with Detective Diaz, it reminded Ray of himself. He was impressed by the fact that she could drive others around her to be better, as well as be driven by those around her. A good squad should work together and push each other to be better. 

Ray was not surprised, however, to learn that Detective Jacob Peralta was exactly as he had first thought. A good detective, perhaps, but immature and childish. A lack of respect for authority and following orders. A lack of respect for life in general, it seemed. So, it was clear to Ray where he should begin with his reform for the 9-9. 

Detective Peralta would have to acknowledge he was not the end all be all. If that meant Holt personally had to babysit him to ensure procedure was followed, so be it. He went to the crime scene that was currently top priority for the precinct and where all the top detectives were gathered. Of course, he arrived in time to hear Detective Peralta call him a pain in the ass, and almost get Detective Boyle on board (though Boyle was easily dissuaded by Detective Diaz.)

The ten-tie comment gave him the perfect opening to make himself known and shoot down Jake “Meep Morp” Peralta. If Peralta could not follow a direct order, then he did not deserve to be treated with respect of being called by his first name. Holt assigned him door duty to make sure all bases were covered in the case. But more importantly to remind Peralta of the importance of the basics, no matter how useless he found them. The coroner report and door duty would both take time, so Holt headed back to the precinct to see what else needed attention. 

Seeing his administrative assistant, Gina, at her desk reminded Ray of a comment Terry had made about Peralta and Santiago’s bet. Ray knew how valuable it was to have assistants on his side. They were the eyes and ears of the building and knew what was going on better than anyone else. The more Ray knew about the squad, the better. The terms of the bet gave him an idea of what he was working with, and an insight of how Peralta acted with his fellow detectives. Peralta’s terms for winning the bet did nothing to undo the image Holt had formed in his mind. Peralta’s guarantee that a date with him would end in sex only made him more certain that Peralta might be more like the old guard than he thought. Though Santiago had agreed to the bet despite these comments, Holt couldn’t help but wonder if Peralta was potentially harassing the female detectives. He’d have to keep an eye out. Maybe sending Santiago and Peralta both on door duty wasn’t a good idea. 

When all four detectives had returned, Ray was not pleased to hear Peralta’s comment about Santiago striking out with a 92-year-old man. On the other hand, Santiago was more preoccupied with showing him that she was professional. The tie wrapped around Peralta’s midriff only irritated Holt further. There was no need to expose his torso and it frustrated him that this all seemed to be a game to Peralta. Becoming a detective had cost Ray so much to obtain and hold onto, yet this man-child treated everything like playtime. Holt would not let it stand.

**  
The last straw or, more aptly, the last spoon came a few hours later. Peralta directly defied his orders about being kept up-to-date, which led to Ratko, their prime suspect, getting away. Yet Peralta thought he could fix this with a scoop of hazelnut ice cream?! He had half a mind to suspend Peralta for his insubordination, but restrained himself and banished him to the records room instead. A battle of wills was not what he had hoped for on his first day. Perhaps he had been naïve to think it would be simple to get along with his detectives.

But then it seemed like he had finally gotten through to Peralta when he was summoned to the records room, where the detective had been working quietly and diligently. Ray was especially pleased to see that Peralta was finally wearing a tie. The clue Peralta had found was a solid lead, and Ray began to think they might actually get along. That is, until Peralta stood, and was wearing that ridiculous multicolor Speedo. But Ray would not be fazed. He would not allow himself to be embarrassed. He would turn this around on Peralta. If Peralta wanted to play with fire, he would get burned.

Ray wanted to keep a close eye on Peralta during the stakeout, to try to mitigate any further shenanigans. Santiago was still trying to impress him and had eagerly volunteered to be in the car as well, calling dibs on shotgun. So there they were, all three sitting in the car. Naturally, small talk followed, as well as questions about Ray's career.

Peralta’s surprise at Ray's statement about his sexuality was surprising. Ray hadn’t kept it a secret. So he hadn't been entirely sure up to that point if Peralta’s disrespect didn’t also stem from homophobia. One never knew. It wasn’t as if homophobes went around with nametags that declared themselves as such. Especially now that it had, thankfully, became more socially acceptable to be himself. It didn’t mean homophobia didn’t exist, only that it was far more subtle. 

So Ray had not been expecting Peralta’s sincere apology about his behavior throughout the day in response to hearing what Ray had been through. Maybe there was hope for Peralta yet. 

As they entered the storage facility, Ray made a quip to let Peralta know he was giving him a chance to start over, which Peralta took. Their shift ended on a high note when they caught Ratko with no incident, unless you counted Peralta’s untimely epiphany. 

Maybe this would work out better than Ray had hoped. Maybe, he thought amusedly as he saw Peralta limp off to go release the Speedo, he’d be able to get the 9-9 in top form yet.


End file.
